Behavioral interviews are increasingly popular. Unlike traditional interviews, a behavioral interview aims to discover how the interviewee handles specific work-related situations. The logic behind a behavioral interview is simple, past performance predicts future performance. If you’re interviewing, make sure you prepare yourself appropriately for a behavioral interview.

In a traditional interview, you will be asked questions with straightforward answers. In a behavioral interview, the employer has decided what qualities and skills they are looking for in an employee. The interviewer will ask questions to find out how you handled a certain situation instead of how you would handle it in the future. To prepare yourself, first, you need to know what kind of questions you might be asked. These questions are very typical to a behavioral interview:

• Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done?
• Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split-second decision?
• Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem?
• What do you do when your schedule is interrupted? Give an example of how you handle it?

As you can see, these questions are looking for specific examples of how you handled a situation. The best way to answer these questions is to give a PAR answer. Tell about the Problem you handled, the Action you took, and the Result of the action.

There’s no reason to let a behavioral interview intimidate you. Prepare yourself by anticipating the kind of questions that will be asked and practice your responses. The talent acquisition team at Menlo Partners Staffing is happy to answer your questions about recruiting and workforce management.